The Portrayal of Protagonists with Communication Disorders in Contemporary Award-Winning Juvenile Fiction
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Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports 2015 The Portrayal of Protagonists with Communication Disorders in Contemporary Award-Winning Juvenile Fiction Jane Lefevre Follow this and additional works at: https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd Recommended Citation Lefevre, Jane, "The Portrayal of Protagonists with Communication Disorders in Contemporary Award- Winning Juvenile Fiction" (2015). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 6054. https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/6054 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by the The Research Repository @ WVU with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. 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The Portrayal of Protagonists with Communication Disorders in Contemporary Award-Winning Juvenile Fiction Jane Lefevre Dissertation submitted to the College of Education and Human Services at West Virginia University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in Curriculum and Instruction Patricia Obenauf, EdD Chair Ardeth Deay, PhD Barbara Ludlow, EdD Robert Orlikoff, PhD Joy Faini Saab, EdD Department of Curriculum and Instruction/Literacy Studies Morgantown, West Virginia 2015 Keywords: Children’s Literature, Disabilities, Communication Disorder Copyright 2015 Jane Lefevre Abstract The Portrayal of Protagonists with Communication Disorders in Contemporary Award-Winning Juvenile Fiction Jane Lefevre Twenty-six contemporary North American award-winning intermediate children’s and young adult fictional books were identified that contained twenty-seven protagonists with communication disorders (CD). These books were evaluated using an adaptation of the Dyches & Prater (2000) Rating Scale for Quality Characterizations of Individuals with Disabilities in Children’s Literature. Each guideline is discussed in detail while examining the quality of portrayed characterizations and literary elements in the eligible literature. The types of CDs depicted were language, speech and hearing disorders. No protagonists with central auditory processing disorders were found. Almost half of the protagonists had language disorders, making it the most commonly portrayed type of CD. Approximately a fourth of the main characters with CDs had autism spectrum disorders. The overall quality of all of the books was positive. The books scored well in categories, such as, social interactions, personal portrayals, exemplary practices and sibling relationships. Within these categories the literature measured well above the acceptable level on such portrayal characteristics as accuracy, realism, character development, interest/strengths, reciprocal and variety of relationships, empathy, respect, valued occupations, promoting self-determination, and full citizenship opportunities. The only area that fell below the 90th percentile was the trait of using nondiscriminatory language that avoids stereotypical portrayals. Within this study two different comparisons were made using the results of the rating scale. In the first comparison, scores of authors who had some personal connection with the primary or secondary disorder that contributed to the CD were compared to authors who had no personal connection to the CD being described. The group of books written by authors having connections with disabilities portrayed in their books scored overall at least 10% higher in topics relating to: primary relationships with paid personnel, caregiver relationships, fear of association by characters without disabilities, receiving appropriate services, and providing additional information for readers to find out more about disabilities. In the other group of books that were written by authors that did not have any connection with the disabilities depicted in their books, score differences higher than at least 10% were discovered in the following areas: using nondiscriminatory language, relationships with friends and siblings, and being portrayed as victims, initiators and protectors. This group also had two books that had protagonists with CDs whose CDs were irrelevant to the story. In the second comparison in this study, the scores of books that won awards that were created specifically to honor the portrayal of individuals with disabilities were compared to those scores of books that won awards that did not specifically honor disabilities. The group of books that won awards that were created specifically to honor the portrayal of individuals with disabilities scored overall at least 10% higher in topics relating to: being depicted as initiator and caregiver, receiving appropriate services, portraying attitudes and practices iii congruent with the era, having feelings of guilt toward the protagonist with CD, and providing additional information for readers to find out more about disabilities. In the other group of books that won awards that did not specifically honor individuals with disabilities, score differences higher than at least 10% were discovered in the following areas: using nondiscriminatory language, being portrayed as victims and protectors and having books that had protagonists with CDs whose CDs were irrelevant to the story. iv Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to my parents, Helen H. Lefevre and Medard L. Lefevre. Thank you for all your support over the years and giving me the valuable gift of a passion to learn. Without your help this dissertation would never have been completed. v Acknowledgment My sincere gratitude and appreciation to my chair and members of my committee, Patricia Obenauf, Ardeth Deay, Joy Faini Saab, Barbara Ludlow and Robert Orlikoff. Thank you for all your encouragement, patience, guidance and support over the years. A special thanks to my family for their enthusiasm, kindness and understanding. I could not have written this dissertation without you. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract............................................................................................................................ ii Dedication……………………………………………………………………………… iv Acknowledgement............................................................................................................. v Table of Contents……………………………………………………………………...... vi List of Tables…………………………………………………………………………...xiii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………. .. 1 Representation of People with Disabilities in Children’s Books……………….. 2 Rationale for Study…………..……………………………………………….…. 5 Statement of the Problem………………………………………………………... 7 Purposes of Study……………………………………………………………….. 8 Statement of Research Questions…………………………………………...….. 10 Justification…………………………………………………………………….. 11 Definitions……………………………………………………………………… 12 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………………………… 15 Introduction…………………………………………………………………….. 15 Portrayal of Characters with Disabilities in Children’s Literature………...…... 16 Introduction…………………………………………………………………. 16 General Literature Investigation……………………………………………. 17 Literature Portrayal of Disabilities Over Time …………………………….. 18 Empirical Studies of Disabilities Over Time ………………………………. 19 Types of Disabilities Portrayed……………………………………………... 20 vii Empirical Studies of Specific Disabilities………………………...………… 21 Disabilities and Award-Winning Books……………….…………………… 24 Communication Disorders Studies…………………………………………. 26 Book Awards………………………………………………………………..… 28 Significance of Awards...…………………………………………………… 28 Types of Book Awards……………………………………………………… 29 Major American Children’s Book Awards ..……………………………….. 30 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY…….…………………………………………….. 33 Research Design .……………………………………………………………… 33 Procedures for Selecting Books . ……………………………………………… 34 Sources of the Titles..……………………………………………………….. 35 Criteria for Inclusion of the Literature..…………………………………….. 36 Book Locations..……………………………………………………………….. 38 Data Collection...………………………………………………………………. 39 Instrumentation..……………………………………………………………….. 39 Analysis of the Books..………………………………………………………… 41 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS…………………………………………………………….. 43 Research Question 1…………………………………………………………… 43 Contemporary Literature that has Protagonists with CD…………………… 43 Protagonists, Genres, and Settings………………………………………….. 45 Protagonists/Personal Characteristics………………………………….. 49 Genres…………………………………………………………………... 49 viii Settings…………………………………………………………………. 50 Types of Communication Disorders……………………………………….. 51 Speech Disorders……………………………………………………….. 52 Fluency Disorders…………………………………………………. 52 Articulation Disorders……………………………………………... 60 Language Disorders……………………………………………………. 64 Pragmatic and Semantic Language Disorders……………………. 65 Synopsis of Protagonists with ASD………………………………. 66 Eye Contact……………………………………………………….. 68 Facial Expressions/Body Language………………………………. 70 Mutism………………………………………………………………….. 72 Hearing Disorders………………………………………………………. 78 Research Question 2…………………………………………………………… 85 Personal Portrayal………………………………………………………. 88 Accuracy, Character Development, Interests/Strengths…………… 89 Realism……………………………………………………………. 90 Low-Scoring